


Semester Summary

by Xzeihoranth



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Mentioned Blake Belladonna, Mentioned Ruby Rose (RWBY), Mentioned Weiss Schnee (RWBY), Mentioned Yang Xiao Long (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:33:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24203692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xzeihoranth/pseuds/Xzeihoranth
Summary: Glynda Goodwitch goes over Beacon's star pupils with the headmaster, whose head is in the stars.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Semester Summary

**Author's Note:**

> Proud member of the Fuck Oz Club, but I wanted to write this anyway.

Ozpin opened his eyes so quickly Glynda couldn't even be sure they had closed to begin with. "Yes?" he said simply.

"You wanted to hear my impressions of your 'star pupils'." Glynda reminded him.

"Did I?"

Glynda sighed. She'd worked with him long enough to know this was simply the way he worked, always testing and prodding with words and actions, or occasionally a lack thereof. "Yes, you did."

He turned his chair to look at her. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Without another word, Glynda sat down. If there had been a student in the room, she knew Ozpin would have smiled or offered some form of reassurance. But it had been many years since she'd been a student, and after the abandoned train tunnels had exploded with Grimm a scant few days ago and the ensuing invasion had been hastily (if handily) thwarted, those smiles had become even more infrequent.

"Weiss Schnee. Daughter of Jacques Gelé and Willow Schnee." The insult implied by using his given name rather than the one he'd married his way into did bring a brief quirk to Ozpin's lips. "Date of birth June 2nd 63-"

"No need for the formalities." he said. She glanced up from her papers, surprised at the rasping quality of his voice. "A brief summary of your impressions, if you would."

She nodded and looked back to her folder. "Her grades are exceptional of course. In combat, she appears to deal better with a number of lesser-skilled adversaries as opposed to one with approximately her skill. Her performance as a whole..." She paused for a moment to think. "Passable."

"Passable?" He almost sounded surprised.

"She seems fond of getting into arguments, particularly with her team. To think at the start of the term, I was worried about how Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie would get along." Glynda shook her head and continued. "She only participates in the extracurricular activies she assumes will grant her some form of advantage over the others."

"Very much her father's heir, it seems." Ozpin seemed to have noticed the sound of his voice, for he took a drink from his mug only to discover it was empty. He sighed disappointedly. "But appearances can be deceiving." He gazed at Glynda. The afternoon sun beaming in behind him made his features almost invisible. "As we both know."

She nodded slowly. "Next, Blake Belladonna. Her choice of Beacon Academy implies a level of confidence in the student body not paying attention to matters outside of Vale. Her surname clearly calls to mind two of the major surviving players of the Faunus Rights Revolution."

"Clearly." Ozpin repeated.

"Her grades are unspectacular, perhaps due more to an unwillingness to stand out or fully apply herself, which brings me to my final point."

She was silent until Ozpin prompted her. "And what is that?"

"She's afraid. Not of standing up for herself, but of matters outside of her control. Her history with the White Fang perhaps."

"That is not to leave this room." Ozpin said, more sharply than Glynda expected. She stiffened, but he had already moved on. "But after all, who among us is not afraid of our past catching up with us."

He hadn't phrased it as a question, so Glynda simply said "Yes sir" and moved on. "Lastly, Yang Xiao Long came as something of a surprise in all respects. Her grades are _impeccable_. I admit I'd more than expected her to take after her father, who coasted by on his team's merits instead of his own, but she's bright, intelligent, cheerful. In almost every way a model student."

"And that upsets you." Again, not a question.

Glynda put down her folder. "As you said, appearances can be deceiving. I thought that I would know better."

"Prejudice is hard to eradicate. Just ask Miss Belladonna, or rather don't. In many ways, it mirrors our struggle against Her. It's a matter of constant vigilance, a battle to be fought both outside and in."

Glynda wasn't sure how to respond to that. Thankfully, Ozpin didn't appear to expect a response. He stood up, his joints creaking loudly, and walked over to look out the window over the grounds of the school. He must have known it was too high up to really see anything, Glynda thought. Perhaps he just wanted to make sure it was still there.

After a while, Glynda continued. "The one thing I could say about her is that I feel she's taking on too much. Attempting to mediate between her team, dealing with her own schoolwork _as well as_ assisting her younger sister, and enough extracurricular activities for all four of them. It makes me wonder what she does for herself."

"Perhaps that's it." Ozpin said, to himself more to her.

"Sir?"

Ozpin didn't answer directly, as was often his way. He turned around and said, "You know, I find myself in need of some more hot chocolate. Autumn is approaching, and this far from the ground one can feel the cold more quickly."

"Don't think you can dismiss me like one of your students, Professor. We've been through too much for that." Glynda said. Nevertheless she got to her feet. "Do you want me to bring it for you?"

"No, no, I'll come down myself. I've been up here too long, I'm sure you can tell." He reached out a hand for The Long Memory, and as they met, Glynda became aware once again of the ticking of the clocks above them. Some days she wondered how he could stand them. And some other days she wondered if they were the only things keeping him grounded.

"By the way," Glynda said, as they fell into step together on the way to the elevator. "You still haven't asked me about Ruby Rose."

Ozpin smiled. "Didn't I?" His spectacles glimmered in the last of the sunlight.


End file.
